1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains generally to a system for temporarily halting the flow of one or more incoming mail pieces into an envelope inserter apparatus. More particularly, the subject invention relates to a document buffer system having a controlling program that is utilized in connection with a document interface feeding device, an envelope inserter, and documents being transferred through the interface feeding device into the inserter, wherein one or more of the incoming documents may be temporarily halted, within the interface feeding device, before entry into the envelope inserter and buffered or cued in known order until the controlling program directs any cued documents to once again enter the envelope inserter.
2. Description of Related Art
Traditionally, when a series of document packets (often one or more pages in a billing statement for goods and/or services provided) are delivered by a transport device to an envelope inserter and an error is detected in the process there were three solutions: 1) the transporter is stopped, with the accompanied stoppage in production until the problem is resolved; 2) the transporter continues running, the envelopes filled, and the error is resolved later; and 3) the transporter continues to run with the problem document packets diverted out of the production process. However, there are two significant problems with the traditional solutions: 1) reduced productivity and 2) reduced quality. For whatever reason the inserter stops (there are many and they often occur about every minute, during the average process), the negative results are the same. All document packets that are in transition (frequently, from one to four) stack up either in the inserter track of in a diverter tray. After an operator rectifies the inserter error, the operator must remove the document packet(s), manually separate then from each other, insure that each document packet is complete and correct, and hand place them back into the track one at a time while cycling the inserter between them. Clearly, this corrective action is time consuming and can significantly increase the time to complete a job (often as much as a 30% increase). Also, human intervention of document packet production always increases the chance of making significant quality errors. The operator can inadvertently make several different errors; not separating two document packets that may have nested when stacked will result in two document packets mailed in the same envelope, mixing sheets from one document packet with another when separating them will result in incomplete or incorrect mailed document packets placing document packets in the track in the wrong sequential order will result in improper insert matching, or placing document packets in the track in the wrong orientation will result in undeliverable mail. Plainly, many difficulties existed in the prior error-resolution processes.
Several mechanisms already exist to divert of buffer the flow of documents during document transfers in numerous specific settings, but these mechanisms do not make obvious, teach, suggest, or imply in any manner the subject invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,948,564 discloses a fluid bearing apparatus and method that utilizes a selective turntable diverter structure to temporarily store identical items in a buffer station. The buffer station merely maintains a ready pool of identical items to supply the needs of an associated apparatus. No item sequence information is recorded or needed with this device.
Described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,544,146 is an insertion machine with control signals stored on searchable medium. Envelopes are printed with desired information and utilized (buffered and flipped) with an inserter and associated inserter stations.
A control signal buffer for use in an inserter system is related in U.S. Pat. No. 4,707,790. An information control buffer, no physical item is buffered, is provided in which control information from the supervisory controller to the sheet inserter system is buffered so that synchronicity is achieved between the transfer of batches of documents from a web of incoming documents and what is actually inserted into designated envelopes.
A communication network and protocol for real-time control of mailing machine operations is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,003,538. Information buffers within microprocessors are utilized to facilitate the transfer of controlling information to operate a traditional mailing machine.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,029,832 presents an in-line rotary inserter for use with an envelope inserting machine. A number of diverter stations are disposed ahead of the envelope inserting station for diversion of envelopes and inserts and ahead of the inserted envelope stacking assembly to divert inserted envelopes during normal operation and detected error situations. Upon detection of an error situation, the subject invention halts incoming statements before any envelopes are encountered.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,503,388 and 5,538,140 disclose a buffered stacker that selectively diverts horizontally disposed documents from a main conveying path, then stacks and transports the documents to replaceable receiving containers. This system directly diverts the selected documents away from the conveying path and does not allow any selected documents to reenter the main conveying path.
Described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,613,669 relates a control process for use in the production of printed products and means for performing the process. In the sequential assembly of multi-page document sets a controller, using a camera/detector, is utilized to scan and analyze each incoming page to determine if the correct page has been delivered and, if not, to direct corrective actions.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,816,715 outlines an interfacing mechanical buffer that allows two streams of materials to be united, even if the rates of flow of the materials from each of the two streams differ. To merge two streams of documents, each traveling at different speeds, one stream is slowed by having a mechanical buffer receive the documents and then release them in a first-in-first-out order. The mechanical buffer comprises a matched set of four helical-shaped screws that receive a incoming document, rotate to receive additional documents, and permit discharge of the received documents in order of their entrance to the buffer.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,826,869 and 6,131,053 present a high throughput document-processing machine having a dynamic speed control. The device merely directs the flow accumulated sets of documents from a first transport pathway to a second transport pathway if a jam is detected in the first pathway.
A transporter buffer and inserter method are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,860,504. A plurality of sensors detect positions of items in a transfer system and stop the items at predetermined locations based upon when the items should enter a receiving area.
The foregoing patents reflect the state of the art of which the applicant is aware and are tendered with the view toward discharging applicant's acknowledged duty of candor in disclosing information which may be pertinent in the examination of this application. It is respectfully submitted, however, that none of these patents teaches or renders obvious, singly or when considered in combination, applicant's claimed invention.